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In episode 103 of “The JoyPowered® Workspace Podcast,” JoDee and Susan discuss executive compensation and other incentive programs with Jennifer Loftus from Astron Solutions.

Many employees and employers find comfort in knowing exactly how many dollars will be in every paycheck, but there are great reasons to use variable compensation, like driving performance, helping employees achieve goals, and expanding an employee’s total rewards package without increasing the salary burden. If you choose to create an incentive plan, it’s critical that you have actual goals, they’re measurable, the employees have control over making the goals happen, and you’re frequently communicating.

There are some nuances between executive compensation and staff compensation, but in reality, they’re very similar – the main differences are long term incentives and/or stock and perquisites. It’s important to have an executive compensation strategy that works, because they’re big ticket packages, and they typically receive more visibility in the media. Make sure that not only is HR involved, but also at least part of the board, possibly outside consultants and/or legal counsel if appropriate, and the CEO. It’s also important to review your compensation annually. When you’re designing incentive plans and executive compensation plans, as yourself what you would think of them if you were a third party stakeholder – if your gut is telling you there are issues, revisit and rework it so you have confidence in your programs.

In this episode’s best practice sharing segment, we asked how our listeners are supporting employees’ mental health during these challenging times. Our listener question revolves around companies being reluctant to give feedback to job candidates and not being willing to give detailed employee references. In the news, the EEOC announced that employers cannot require employees to undergo COVID-19 antibody testing before permitting them to reenter the workplace.

Mentioned in this episode:

• Purple Ink
• Susan Tinder White Consulting
• Purple Ink Coaching
• Astron Solutions
• Form 990
• GuideStar
• Candid
• Jennifer on LinkedIn
• The JoyPowered® Team audiobook

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